CHAPTER III.
A BLOOD-RED STREAK.
"Is your son with you?"
"Yes, your Highness."
"Is he still determined to enter the army?"
"He is anxious to do so."
"I like the noble-looking youth, and will take care that the ladies donot spoil him; they would like to make a plaything of him. Has healready applied for admission?"
"Not yet, your Highness. I wished to have the application made in thename that your Highness is pleased to confer upon me."
"Quite right," answered the Prince. On his writing-table were twotelegraphic knobs, a white and a black one; he pressed the white one;the old valet entered, and the Prince said,--
"I desire that there shall be no one in the ante-chamber."
The attendant withdrew. Sonnenkamp gazed questioningly at the Prince,who said:--
"Your elevation to rank has been a difficult matter for me. You havemany enemies, of course."
Sonnenkamp's eyes closed for a moment, as if some one were brandishinga dagger before them; and then he gazed at the picture; it was nocreation of his fancy, it was hanging there behind the Prince. Why didthe Prince have it in his cabinet?
"You are a man of noble ideas," began the Prince anew; "you have shapedyour life yourself, I respect you for that; such men deserve thehighest honors. I am glad that I can confer them on you, as I can."
Sonnenkamp wanted to say that he was well aware of the opinion of theCount of Wolfsgarten, but that he did not question the absolute powerof the Prince; but it seemed better to be silent. Why should he embarkin a discussion which would only lengthen out the scene? And besides,the Cabinetsrath had strongly urged upon him the necessity ofdiscretion.
The Prince now went over once more all the noble and good things whichSonnenkamp had done. The latter listened modestly with downcast eyes;he really found it very trying to hear it all now in his presentposition; the Prince might defer it until a party, or a hunt, or someother occasion would offer a favorable opportunity. Sonnenkamp was ofthe opinion that the whole court, as well as himself, looked upon allthese stories about nobility as nothing more than an excellentnecessary humbug; he was astonished to find the Prince so solemn andearnest in a tete-a-tete. Or was this part of the humbug?
But the Prince was going through with what was before him as became aman moved by duty, however unpleasant the duty might be; he evidentlyconsidered it proper to declare his motives, in order to exhort the manto strive after things still more noble. He seemed to himself at thismoment a kind of priest, who, concealed from the whole world in theinner sanctuary of the temple, is consecrating a novice; he was muchmoved himself. The first chamberlain had not been wrong; the Prince hadreturned to the palace some time before the hour appointed, but he hadbeen quietly preparing himself beforehand for this solemn ceremony.
Since Herr von Endlich's elevation to the nobility, the Prince had beenin the habit of using certain set phrases; no one knew who hadoriginated them, but he often repeated, like a lesson learned by heart,the words--"Yes, yes, it is an established rule, an excellent rule,that the monumental should not be treated lightly. One should not carvein stone, or cast in bronze, a momentary jest or whim, to look awkwardand out of place as time goes on; such things are only fit to enliventhe passing moment. The transient should not be transformed into anenduring monument."
He did not show distinctly what was in his mind, but it was easy to seewhat he meant. He had not done well in making a pun with the name hehad conferred upon Herr Ton Endlich, for what is more monumental thanelevation to rank? The present occasion, therefore, he wished to make athoroughly solemn one.
Patiently, and like a child bending forward to receive confirmation,Sonnenkamp bowed his head. Several times the Prince stretched out onehand, several times the other, several times both together, while hewas speaking of the blessings which men strongly armed with theknowledge of the higher duties spread around them. Sonnenkamp expectedevery minute that he would lay both hands upon his head and bless him,and although the Prince was younger than himself, he would havereceived the blessing with modesty and humility, for this man had beenconsecrated by the custom of ages for the dispensation of honor.
At this moment Sonnenkamp tried to be right monarchically inclined; ifit had been demanded of him, he would, with every prescribed formula,have solemnly foresworn republic, constitution, and whatever was firmlyfixed by the power of law.
In the midst of his remarks the Prince took up a roll, covered withblue velvet, that was lying on his table; he took off the covering anddrew out a parchment roll that crackled and rustled, and bore a broadglistening seal.
Sonnenkamp took off his right-hand glove; now comes the moment when hemust take the oath and receive the parchment that is to make him a newman. He was ready to be made a new man; he tried to be deeply affected,and sought for the only thing in the world that could really affect himdeeply and make him tremble. And now in the middle of the Prince'scabinet he saw before him a church-yard covered with snow in a Polishvillage, and there was his mother's grave; he did not hear what thePrince was saying while he held the parchment in his hand, but hiswords were undoubtedly very moving.
But now, what does that mean? the Prince laid the parchment down againon the table, and, sitting down, said:--
"I am glad to see, in your eyes, how profoundly you feel this moment.Pray be seated." Sonnenkamp sat down, and the Prince continued:--
"Let us discuss one more subject, in a quiet way. You have held manyslaves, have you any still?"
"No, your Highness."
"Was it only a longing for Germany that induced you to return to theOld World, or was it also your finding the condition of affairs in thevaunted Republic unbearable?"
"The latter, your Highness, although the former had something to dowith it. I see trouble brewing in the United States, which--I say thisonly to your Highness--cannot be settled except by the establishment ofa monarchy in the New World."
"Good, you must explain the matter to me more fully some other time. Iam glad to learn--very glad. It is our duty to receive instruction fromthose who understand a particular subject thoroughly. What do you thinkof slavery in general?"
"That is a very extensive subject, your Highness; I have put my viewsupon it in writing; I shall have the honor----"
"No, just tell me concisely the kernel, the principle of the thing."
"Your Highness, the niggers are an inferior race, that is anestablished physiological fact; it is idle dreaming--though honestlymaintained by many--which leads directly to the ruin of the niggerhimself, to set him down as entitled to the same rights with othermen."
"And would you--" asked the Prince, "No, I will put another question toyou. How do you regard a man who traffics in beings of this inferiorrace?"
Sonnenkamp started up immediately from his chair, but he sat down againquickly, and said:--
"Creatures, your Highness, who cannot help themselves, and who neverwill be able to, are protected as they would not otherwise be by beingconsidered as property; that so called generosity, without profit,without material regard either for property or for honor, is like asoul without a body; one can conceive it, but it does not exist, atleast in the world we see before us."
"Very fine--very good. You are a thinker. I myself believe that thenegro is better off with a master. But how is it when you see with yourown eyes the child sold away from the mother, and in that way every tieof family forcibly torn asunder?"
"But, your Highness, that happens very seldom, or rather hardly ever,"replied Sonnenkamp with great composure, "for it would be a materialdisadvantage, and would make the slaves less inclined to work; butshould it happen, any sentimental feeling about the matter would beonly narrowing the sentimentalism from a wider sphere to a specialcase. A brute that has outgrown the care of its parents knows theparents no more, mates do not know each other after the brooding timeis past. I will not say----"
; "What is it?" said the Prince, interrupting him suddenly.
The white-haired valet entered.
"Why am I interrupted?"
"His Excellency the Minister begs your Highness to open thisimmediately."
The Prince opened the letter, and took out a printed sheet; a red lineran along the margin of it like a streak of blood. The Prince began toread, he looked up from the page towards Sonnenkamp: he read onfarther, the paper cracked and trembled in his hand; he laid it down onthe table and said:--
"Confounded audacity!" Sonnenkamp was standing at the table, and itseemed to him as if the two telegraphic knobs had changed into eyes,one white and one black, and from the green table a fabulous creatureof strange form was shaping itself,--a queer monster with a white and ablack eye, and that it was emerging from the deep, moving alongsluggishly, and staggering from side to side. As if in the frenzy offever he sat there collecting all his strength. The Prince, looking nowat the paper, now at Sonnenkamp, at last walked up to him and held outthe paper; the rustle of it was like the stab of a knife as he said:--
"Here, read it--read it."
Printed in large letters on it were these words marked with red ink:--
"A humble suggestion for a coat-of-arms and escutcheon for the ennobledslave-trader and slave-killer, James Heinrich Sonnenkamp, formerlyBanfield, from Louisiana--"
Sonnenkamp read only these words, and then stared up at the Prince, onwhose face was a distorted smile.
"Give me your hand," said the Prince, "give me your hand and tell me,on your word of honor, that it is a lie. Give me your hand, and we willthen crush the impudent scoundrels."
Sonnenkamp staggered back, as if a shot had struck him. What was allthat he had enjoyed in life compared with the anguish of this moment?
He stretched out his hand doubled up, as if he wished to say: I canbreak you like a slender twig. But he opened his hand, and held it onhigh with the forefinger pointing to heaven.
Then suddenly there appeared in front of him a large powerful negro,rolling his eyes and showing his teeth.
With a cry more like that of a wild beast than of a human being,Sonnenkamp fell backwards upon his chair.
The figure in front of him gave a yell, and behind him yelledanother--it was Adams, who had rushed in.
"Prince! master!" cried the negro, "this is the man who took me, whocarried me off as a slave, and pitched me into the water. Let him onlyshow his finger, it still bears the mark of my teeth. Let me have him,let me have him! I'll suck his blood for him, I'll choke him! Only letme have him a minute--let me have him! then kill me!"
Adams caught hold of Sonnenkamp's hand from behind, and clutched it asif he would crush it.
Sonnenkamp struggled with all his might to throw off the powerful hold,wrestling with the negro clinging fast to him; and his anguish wasdoubled, for he was not only wrestling, but, as he thought, he couldsee in the mirror opposite two beings, one was himself--was it reallyhe?--the other a devil, a demon.
Is it all only a fever-fancy, or is it reality?
The Prince's finger constantly plied the telegraphic bell on his table;servants began to pour in, in great numbers.
The Prince cried:--
"Take Adams out. See that he keeps quiet; and the rest of you show thisman out of the palace."
Adams was torn away from Sonnenkamp; he roared like a bull that hasreceived the fatal stroke, and foamed at the mouth.
The Prince took the parchment with the red seal up from the table, andturned away with it.
Then Sonnenkamp rose up; he glanced at the Prince, his eyes almoststarting from their sockets, and shrieked out:--
"What would you have? and what then are you? Your ancestors, orconnections, or whatever else they were, sold their subjects away intoAmerica, and got a fixed price for a shot-off arm, for a lucky corpse.You have trafficked in white men, and sent them across the sea. Andwhat are you now? Secret proprietors of gambling hells at home. Pah! Ibought my slaves from a prince, bought them honorably, but what did youdo? You sold off your subjects, and on Sundays those who were leftbehind had to say amen in the church, when the Lord of lords wassupplicated for your welfare. Are you ashamed of this kinship? But Itell you he was a man, and deserved better to reign than----"
He was not sure whether the Prince still heard what he was saying; theservants seized him and gave him to understand that he must be quiet,that such loud talking was not permitted there.
Sonnenkamp had fallen; he was raised again, and led down the staircase.He looked about him often, as if he wanted to say, I shall never treadthese halls more.
Below, the carriage was waiting. Sonnenkamp leaned on Joseph andsaid:--
"Joseph, sit beside me in the carriage."
That was all he said.
When they had reached the hotel, and got out, the little fellow was inthe midst of the hackmen; they all had courage enough now, and criedout:--
"Long live the Baron! hurra! again hurra!"
Sonnenkamp could not utter a word. Was the world mocking at him?
He could not tell how he got up the steps. In a moment he was sittingin a large chair; he gazed at the mirror, as if in that room too thereflection of the negro must confront him there.
He sat there, staring, without speaking a word.
Das landhaus am Rhein. English Page 168